Sheet feeding mechanism for a hole-punching machine

ABSTRACT

A machine for simultaneously punching a row of holes along one side of a group of sheets. A stack of sheets is supported by a slotted rotating disc and a finger enters one corner of the stack to separate a group of sheets at the bottom. A rotating depressor shaft lowers the group along its forward edge to permit it to pass into a slot in the disc, thus permitting the group of sheets to drop onto conveyors which carry it toward the punches. A longitudinally adjustable locating stop and a similarly adjustable jogger align the sheet edges at the punching station.

United States Patent inventor Ernst Piaifle Neuifen, Germany Appl. No.888,760

Filed Dec. 29, 1969 Patented Dec. 14, 1971 Assignee Hans Sickinger Co.

Pontiac, Mich.

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM FOR A HOLE- PUNCHING MACHINE [56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,731,271 l/l956 Brown 214/41 X 3,109,642 1H1963 Flynn 270/6l Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza AssistantExaminer-George F. Abraham Attorney-Harness, Dickey & Pierce ABSTRACT: Amachine for simultaneously punching a row of holes along one side of agroup of sheets. A stack of sheets is supported by a slotted rotatingdisc and a finger enters one corner of the stack to separate a group ofsheets at the bottom. A rotating depressor shaft lowers the group alongits forward edge to permit it to pass into a slot in the disc, thuspermitting the group of sheets to drop onto conveyors which carry ittoward the punches. A longitudinally adjustable locating stop and asimilarly adjustable jogger align the sheet edges at the punchingstation.

Patmnmd Um. 1% 19" 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 W/ F M NW W WM? Mfg w I SHEETFEEDING MECHANISM FOR A HOLE-PUNCHING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION l. Field of the Invention The invention relates to machinesfor punching holes in the edges of booklet sheets for the reception ofwire hinges.

2. Description of the Prior Art The prior art is exemplified by my U.S.Pat. No. 3,452,628.

The machine shown in this patent is however not adapted for.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is especially adapted forlarger sheet sizes and eliminates the need for two rotating discs.Moreover, conveniently operable and accessible means are provided foradjusting the longitudinal positions of the stop at the punching stationand the jogger which aligns the sheet edges in a longitudinal direction.Thus, the machine may be easily adjusted to accommodate different sizesof sheets for punching.

The machine comprises a single-slotted rotating disc which supports thestack, and a depressor in the form of a spirally slotted shaft extendingacross the machine at the forward edge of the stack. A finger isprovided as in the previous invention which enters and lifts one comerof the forward edge of the stack above a group of sheets to beseparated, thus permitting one end of the slotted depressor shaft todepress that corner, and permitting the side edge of the group of sheetsto enter a slot in the rotating disc. As the depressor rotates,successive portions of the forward edge of the group of sheets aredepressed and the group passes through the disc slot, dropping ontoconveyor belts.

The belts carry the group of sheets toward a locating stop at thepunching station. After engaging this stop, a jogger comes up behind thegroup of sheets and a second jogger hits the sheets on the side oppositethe punches, thus aligning the sheet edges in both directions. Afterpunching, the locating stop is retracted to permit the conveyor belts todeliver the sheets to a bin.

The means for longitudinally adjusting the locating stop andlongitudinal jogger comprise a pair of carriages which support thesemembers. The carriages have pinions meshing with a rack mounted on thebase and rotatable by a key insertable through apertures in thecarriages. The locating stop and jogger are actuated in timed relationwith each other by a pair of cams which operate separate links, theselinks being connected to two vertically movable rails. The locating stopand longitudinal jogger are rockably mounted on their respectivecarriages, and arms attached to their rocking shafts carry wheels whichrest on the two rails and are lifted thereby, regardless of theiradjusted position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of themachine from the delivery end.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view at closer range, showing thepunching station.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from underneath the paper-supportingplatform showing the location and operation of the locating stop andlongitudinal jogger.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the means for rockablymounting the locating stop and longitudinal jogger.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view from the disc end of the machine showingthe manner in which the group of sheets is depressed and enters a slotin the disc.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The machine is generallyindicated at 11 and comprises a base 12 having a paper-supportingplatform 13. A disc 14 is mounted at one end and above platform I3 on arotary axis 15. This disc is adapted to support a stack of sheets 16which is to be punched along one edge. The stack is held in position atits forward corners by a pair of upstanding angular members 17 and 18which are laterally adjustable on a bar 19 supported at its oppositeends by posts 21 and 22. The rear edge of the stack is guided by avertical member 23 carried by an arm 24 which is in turn supported byarms 25 and 26. The latter two arms are pivotally supported by base I2,arm 25 being mounted coaxially with disc 14 and arm 26 on a post 27.Arms 24, 2S and 26 together form a parallelogram linkage by means ofwhich guide 23 may be adjusted in a longitudinal direction for differentsizes of paper.

Guide rails 28 are provided for groups of sheets being transported onplatform 13, one of these being carried by a downward extension of guide18 and supporting an additional side guide for stack 16 in the form ofan adjustable arm 29. A safety cover 31 is also provided on one side ofbase 12 for partially enclosing the protruding portion of disc 14.

The forward lower edge of stack 16 rides on a depressor shaft 32 whichextends laterally across base 12 forwardly of disc 14 and above platform13. This shaft is rotatably supported at its opposite ends by posts 2]and 22, and has a deep spiral groove 33 formed along its extent. Theaxis of shaft 32 is in the plane formed by those surfaces of guides 17and I8 which engage the forward side of stack 16, and the shaft extendslaterally past these guides in both directions. When adjusting themachine for different sizes of paper, guide 17 will normally be heldrelatively fixed while guide 18 is laterally adjusted. The upper surfaceof shaft 32 rotates toward stack 16, and the portion 34 (FIG. 5) ofshaft 32 at the trailing edge of slot 33 and immediately below guide 1.7is enlarged. Thus, the shaft will engage the adjacent corner of a groupof sheets which has been separated from the main stack and will begin todepress this group. The camlike shape of this portion of shaft 32 issimilar to that of depressor 38 in the above-mentioned patent. In otherwords, portion 34 of shaft 32 has a main surface of constant radius anda portion which extends outwardly and forms a projection at the trailingedge of slot 33 to initially engage the group of sheets indicated at 35in FIG. 5

A finger 36 is provided which acts similarly to finger 36 in theaforementioned patent but which is located forwardly of the stack andextends through a clearance aperture 37 in the lower end of guide 17.This separating finger is operated by a pair of cams (not shown) mountedon an extension of shaft 32. One of these cams operates a rockable arm38 which carries a shaft 39 on which finger 36 is mounted, while theother cam operates an arm 41 which is connected to shaft 39 itself. Theouter end of finger 36 is wedge shaped, and the relationship of theparts as such that during rotation of shaft 32 the finger will besuccessively moved into the lower portion of this stack, up, away fromthe stack and down. This movement will periodically lift the stack abovea group of sheets to be separated. The thickness of the group may bedetermined by a thumbscrew adjustment 42 for finger 36.

Disc 14 has three slots 43 thereon, the major portions of these slotshaving parallel edges with the inner portions being flared toaccommodate the sheets. The disc rotates in such a direction that theouter portion of the trailing edge of each slot will approach one sideedge of each group of sheets 35, will ride over the depressed portion ofthe group, as seen in FIG. 5, and will continue to depress the group ofsheets as the forward edge of the group is depressed by spiral slot 33.The group will thus drop through slot 43 and land on platform 13.

A plurality of endless conveyor belts: 44 (FIG. 4) carried by wheels 45extend beneath shaft 32 and] will carry the group of sheets 35 towardthe punching station. An initial retractable stop 45' (FIG. 5), sideguides 28, weighted holddown rollers 46 above belts 44, additionalrubber holddown bands 47 carried by wheels 48, a leaf spring depressor49 and an initial pusher 50 are provided for properly conveying thegroup of sheets to a punching station 51. The arms which carry rollers46 and wheels 48 are supported by lateral shafts 52 which are attachedat one end to and longitudinally adjustable along a rail 53.

At the punching station, each group of sheets 35 meets a locating stop54 in the form of an angular member properly slotted as at 55 (FIG, 3)to permit belts 44 to pass therethrough. After the group of sheets hasengaged stop 54, and before being punched, it is jogged in alongitudinal direction by a jogger 56 in the form of an angular memberwhich engages the trailing edge of the group. At the same time, alateral jogger 57 (FIGS. 1 and 2) aligns the sheets in a lateraldirection. Member 57 operates in a manner similar to side guide 62 ofthe aforementioned patent and therefore need not be described in detail,except to point out that it is laterally adjustable by means of rods 58and thumbscrews 59 to accommodate difierent widths of paper,

Different lengths of paper are accommodated by relatively minorlongitudinal adjustment of locating stop 54 and greater longitudinaladjustment of jogger 56. The present invention incorporates convenientand easily accessible means for longitudinal adjustment of thesemembers. More particularly, a pair of carriages 61 and 62 (FIG. 3) areprovided for members 54 and 56 respectively. These carriages areslidably mounted on a rail 63 beneath platform 13, and their tops areflush with platform 13 and are slotted to accommodate belts 44. Carriage61 rotatably supports a shaft 64 which has a pair of arms 65 extendingforwardly therefrom. These arms have upward extensions 66 which supportlocating stop 54. Similarly, carriage 62 has a shaft 67 rotatablymounted thereon, this shaft having a pair of rearwardly extending arms68 which carry upward extensions 69 supporting jogger 56. Springs 70urge stop 54 and jogger 56 toward their retracted positions.

The means for adjusting carriages 61 and 62 in a longitudinal directioncomprises a rack 71 secured to one side of rail 63 and pinions (notshown) on carriages 61 and 62 which mesh with this rack. The pinions arerotatable by inserting a key in an access opening such as opening 72 forplatform 62, seen in P16. 1, the key being engageable with an extension73 of the pinion shaft.

The means for moving stop 54 and jogger 56 to their upper positionscomprises a camshaft 74 (FIG. 3) having a pair of cams 75 and 76 foractuating the stop and jogger respectively. Cam 75 operates an arm 77 F10. 4) to the outer end of which is connected a vertical link 78. Thislink extends upwardly though a frame member 79 of base 12 and operates avertically reciprocable rail 81, this rail being guided for verticalmovement by a pair of rods 82 and 83 which extend through member 79. Anarm 84 is attached to shaft 64 and carries a wheel (not shown) whichrides on rail 81 so that lifting of rail 81 will swing stop 54 to itsoperative position while dropping of the rail will permit springs 70 toretract the stop.

Cam 76 has a follower 85 on a rockable arm 86, and a verticallyextending link 87 is connected to this arm and supports a rail 88 aboveframe member 79. Like rail 81, rail 88 is guided by a pair of rods 89and 91 passing through member 79. An arm 92 is connected to shaft 67 ofcarriage 62 and carries a wheel 93 which rests on rail 88. Verticalreciprocation of this rail will therefore operate jogger 56 insynehronism with stop 54. l

The operation of machine 11 will be apparent from the foregoingdescription. Starting with a condition in which finger 36 is retracted,this finger will be advanced into the lower portion of stack 16 and willlift the main portion of the stack. The projecting portion 41 ofdepressor shaft 32 will depress the adjacent corner of the group ofsheets beneath the stack being lifted and will continue to depresssuccessive portions of the forward edge of the group because of thespiral nature of slot 33. The trailing edge of a slot 43 in disc 14 willpass over the depressed portion of group 35 so that the group will droponto conveyor belts 44. fter being initially stopped, by

member 45', the group will pass beneath weighted rollers 46, rubberbands 47 and spring retainer 49 to punching station 51 where it will behalted by locatingstop 54. Joggers 56 and 57 will align the edges of thegroup and the punches of punching station 51 will simultaneously punch arow of holes along one edge of the group. Stop 54 will then beretracted, permitting the group to be discharged into a bin 94.

What is claimed is: I

1. In a mechanism for separating successive groups of sheets from theunderside of a stack so that said groups may be fed in one direction, atable, a disc rotatably mounted above and parallel to said table, guidemeans extending upwardly from said table for locating the forward edgeof said stack, a depressor shaft extending across said table beneath theforward edge of said stack, said depressor shaft having a spiral groovetherein, a finger adjacent one end of said groove and movable into thelower portion of said stack adjacent one corner thereof to separate agroup of sheets therefrom and to thereafter lift the remainder of saidstack above said group of sheets at said corner, said depressor shaftbeing so shaped adjacent said finger as to engage and depress saidcorner of the group of sheets after the remainder of the stack has beenlifted by said finger, and at least one slot in said disc, the axis ofrotation of said disc being so located that said slot will approach theside of said group of sheets adjacent said depressed portion so that thegroup of sheets passes into such slot, the length of said slot beingsufficient to cause said group of sheets to drop onto said table as thesuccessive portions thereof are depressed by said depressor shaft anddisc.

2. The combination according to claim 1, the diameter of said disc beingsufficient to support a stack of paper extending along a substantialportion of said depressor shaft.

3. The combination according to claim 2, there being two comer guides atthe forward portion of said stack, at least one of said guides beinglaterally adjustable to accommodate different sizes of sheets, the axisof said depressor shaft being substantially in a plane with said forwardguides.

4. The combination according to claim 3, said finger being movable atright angles to the extent of said depressor shaft and passing through aclearance aperture in one of said forward guides.

5. The combination according to claim 1, said depressor shaft supportingthe forward edge of said stack of sheets, the portion of said depressorshaft which is so shaped as to depress a comer of said group of sheetsbeing of enlarged diameter adjacent the trailing edge of said spiralslot.

* l 4 l i

1. In a mechanism for separating successive groups of sheets from theunderside of a stack so that said groups may be fed in one direction, atable, a disc rotatably mounted above and parallel to said table, guidemeans extending upwardly from said table for locating the forward edgeof said stack, a depressor shaft extending across said table beneath theforward edge of said stack, said depressor shaft having a spiral groovetherein, a finger adjacent one end of said groove and movable into thelower portion of said stack adjacent one corner thereof to separate agroup of sheets therefrom and to thereafter lift the remainder of saidstack above said group of sheets at said corner, said depressor shaftbeing so shaped adjacent said finger as to engage and depress saidcorner of the group of sheets after the remainder of the stack has beenlifted by said finger, and at least one slot in said disc, the axis ofrotation of said disc being so located that said slot will approach theside of said group of sheets adjacent said depressed portion so that thegroup of sheets passes into such slot, the length of said slot beingsufficient to cause said group of sheets to drop onto said table as thesuccessive portions thereof are depressed by said depressor shaft anddisc.
 2. The combination according to claim 1, the diameter of said discbeing sufficient to support a stack of paper extending along asubstantial portion of said depressor shaft.
 3. The combinationaccording to claim 2, there being two corner guides at the forwardportion of said stack, at least one of said guides being laterallyadjustable to accommodate different sizes of sheets, the axis of saiddepressor shaft being substantially in a plane with said forward guides.4. The combination according to claim 3, said finger being movable atright angles to the extent of said depressor shaft and passing through aclearance aperture in one of said forward guides.
 5. The combinationaccording to claim 1, said depressor shaft supporting the forward edgeof said stack of sheets, the portion of said depressor shaft which is soshaped as to depress a corner of said group of sheets being of enlargeddiameter adjacent the trailing edge of said spiral slot.